DeWine unveils records-mediation program

For the first time, Ohioans fighting city hall over public records have a place to turn other
than the courts.

Ohio Attorney General Michael DeWine today announced that his office is offering to mediate
public-records disputes between local governments and those requesting records.

The
public-records
mediation program "will protect the rights and interests of both Ohioans and their local
officials by helping resolve disputes before parties turn to time-consuming and costly litigation,"
DeWine said.

The program will mediate complaints from records requestors who believe that city, township and
county governments, school boards and other local officials are taking too long to respond to
requests or have improperly denied records.

Governments, too, could ask the attorney general's office to mediate disputes involving requests
that are unclear or overly broad.

A member of the attorney general's public records unit who also is a trained mediator will
work with the parties, mostly via telephone conferences, to broker disputes and suggest
resolutions, according to DeWine's office. The program, which is free, requires the consent of both
parties.

The program cannot mediate public-records disputes involving state government agencies and
officials and public universities and colleges because DeWine's office serves as legal counsel to
state entities.

The lack of a mediation program long has been faulted as a weakness in Ohio's public records law
since average Ohioans lack the resources to wage a legal battle.

David Marburger, a Cleveland lawyer who represents the
Ohio Coalition for
Open Government (an affiliate of the Ohio Newspapers Foundation), said the creation of the
mediation program is “absolutely a good thing.”

He dislikes that mediation sessions are confidential, but conceded it “may be a necessary evil
to get government to participate.”

(And, yes, we checked. While mediation sessions are confidential, the complaints that are filed,
and any resolutions, are public records.)